Every issue in a hotel is either a five-minute fix, a same-day fix, or a project. The cost of misclassifying — treating a project as a five-minute fix or vice versa — is the difference between a room out of order for 90 minutes and one out of order for 9 days.
Tier 1: five-minute fix
A burned-out lamp bulb, a stuck door latch, a missing washcloth, a TV remote that needs a battery, a HVAC filter that needs the reset button pressed. These do not become a work order. The room attendant or the on-shift maintenance tech handles them in real time and notes the room number on the daily log. If the same issue comes back twice in 30 days, it gets escalated.
Tier 2: same-day fix
A leaking faucet, a wobbly toilet seat, a TV that won't power on, a door magnet that won't hold, a balcony door that sticks. These become a work order. The room either stays in inventory if the fix can happen between checkouts (most cases) or goes briefly to OOO for 2-6 hours.
Tier 3: project
A HVAC compressor making noise. A bathroom tile cracked. Carpet damaged by a leak. A safe that won't open. A balcony rail that wobbles. These need scoping — material order, vendor scheduling, sometimes brand approval for a finish replacement. The room goes to OOO if 24h, OOS if longer.
The escalation matrix
A Tier 1 issue handled twice within 30 days escalates to Tier 2 — there is a pattern. A Tier 2 issue that returns within 90 days escalates to Tier 3 — the fix wasn't a fix. A Tier 3 issue that recurs after a project completion is a vendor issue and escalates to procurement, not maintenance. The discipline is not technical; it is record-keeping. Without the daily log and the work-order audit, every issue stays Tier 1 and the same lightbulb burns out for 14 weeks straight.